www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

A great set of group and combination photos there Neil. I wish we had those numbers of SPBF's down this way.

Cheers Guys

Hi David, If I remember correctly think the clumps of flowers were wild Thyme or something similar.

Hi Wurzel, that's one advantage of living in the midlands, going up to Arnside is no further for me than going down to Devon or Dorset. Mind you both are a bit far for a day trip hence the 2 or 3 night stays that I do to get the most out of places.

Hi B rex, I have been wishing that the Long-tailed Blues were closer for me, I suppose the grass is always greener.....

Cheers,

Neil.

During some of my trips out this year I made some attempts to photograph some butterflies in more unusual poses to add a bit more variety and interest. I had particularly liked some of Wurzels ‘stained glass’ type of photos so I had a few tries for something similar as well as side on and head on shots

The results were very mixed but going through my photos it seems that, purely by coincidence, most of my better efforts were of various fritillaries.

The first one though, taken at Prestbury Hill, is not really a fritillary, although it used to go by the name of Duke of Burgundy Fritillary as in my 1971 copy of ‘The Observers Book of Butterflies’ which I still have from when I was a lad
Next up, a couple of Pearl–bordered Fritillaries from the Wyre Forest…
A couple of Dark Greens and High Browns from the Heddon Valley…
Some High Browns from Arnside Knott …
And a Silver-washed Fritillary from Fermyn Woods.
To finish off, one that is definitely not a Fritillary, His Majesty looking down disdainfully in Fermyn Woods.
Bye for now,

Neil.

Great stuff Neil I'm obviously envious of the HBFs again but the Duke is an absolute cracker, I want one like that in my collection

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Excellent photography Neil. Its always nice to see something different, and captured so well.

All the best, Nick.

Thanks for the great comments Wurzel and Nick, glad you like them

Sunday 20th October

Between work during the week and some pretty grotty weekend weather I have not seen any butterflies for a couple of weeks now

Yesterday and today there were some brief sunny spells between the cloud, showers and gusty wind and there has been a lone male Speckled Wood valiantly defending his patch against various bees and hoverflies that are still about.
He has definitely seen better days but was putting up a good show although looking at the forecast for the week ahead I think that today was quite possibly his final performance.
Just a couple of brief encounters with a single butterfly but they cheered my weekend up no end

Bye for now,

Neil

Snap with the weather, ditto for the single butterfly I saw over the weekend and likewise for the behaviour it was exhibiting. Were you visiting Southampton too perchance Hope you can squeeze some more butterflies out of the year.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel, nowhere near Southampton, I just ventured a few yards into my back garden

I am not holding out much hope for many more butterflies around here this year, it has been horrendously wet and windy again today and looks to be the same all week. The trouble is, this time of year, if the sky clears the temperature usually drops with it. If I was further South there maybe more chance but around here, barring the odd occasional hibernator, I think realistically that is about it for this season.

Roll on next Spring....

Cheers,

Neil.

nfreem wrote: Roll on next Spring....

Don't give up just yet, Neil. I reckon there's still a bit of life left in the season.

Hi Neil, a very nice selection of your summer shots, brings it all back great Scotch Argus photos from the Knott. Last week we had a Speckled Wood and Small Whites nectaring on the Valerian. We also had a brief visit from a Humming-bird Hawk-moth, its not all over, quite yet

Mike

Thanks for the comments David and Mike and I appreciate your sentiments about there being a bit of life left in the season.
That may well be true around your parts of the country but here in the midlands it is perfectly normal for our season to start a bit later and finish a bit earlier than it does further south, especially nearer the coast where the climate tends to be a bit milder than ours.

To be realistic, the season here has now finished although that is not to say that I might not see the odd hibernator tempted out by a bit of sunshine or maybe even a late Specklie still if any survive the heavy rain and high winds we are currently experiencing.

Here's hoping that I am wrong but in truth, you guys have more chance of seeing something still than I have.

Cheers,

Neil.

nfreem wrote:
Here's hoping that I am wrong but in truth, you guys have more chance of seeing something still than I have.

Find a sheltered spot with a bit of flowering ivy and I'm pretty certain you'll see Red Admirals in early November.

Frantically trying to catch up on all the diaries Neil and I have to say I love your DGF shots - probably because I know from experience just how hard it is to get a decent shot. Well done.

Thanks for your comments Pauline, very much appreciated as always

I was very lucky this year with Dark Green Frits, and High Browns, as you will know from my diary posts earlier this year. I had a couple of fantastic trips to the Heddon Valley and later to Arnside when I could spend time with the butterflies both earlier in the day and later in the afternoon when they were less flighty and spending more time nectaring.

Cheers,

Neil.

Friday 8th November

The past few weeks have been spent either at work or catching up on stuff around the house that I had put off whist getting about during the summer, the last butterfly that I saw in the garden was the Specklie on the 20th October.

A cold miserable morning at work on Friday with heavy rain outside was brightened up considerably when I spotted a Peacock fluttering about in one of the workshops. It was far too early, about 08.3O and still practically dark with the rain outside so I reckon it had been disturbed from being tucked up inside. It spent a couple of minutes flying about before disappearing behind the mass of pipework and ducting in the roof.
This workshop can be a cold draughty place but it does get warm when the heating is on so is not really a good spot for hibernation. There are some larger roller shutters opening to the outside where it probably came in sometime back so I am hoping it finds its way back outside to find somewhere more suitable to spend the winter.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Sunday 10th November

After a cold and frosty night today was nice and sunny with little wind albeit there being an underlying chilliness in the air. After getting the domestics done this morning I was tempted out this afternoon to blow the cobwebs off with a mooch around Castle Hills at Solihull.
The highlights of the afternoon where a number of little gangs of Long-tailed Tits and Goldfinches that were roving around the hedgerows. They were far too mobile to get any photos but were a joy to watch as they flitted and bounced along the hedges.

There was not much flying insect activity about apart from a few wasps and hoverflies which were mostly around the clumps of Ivy that were just about still in flower.
I did not see any butterflies today but nevertheless it was great to be out after the past couple of weeks when I seem to have been at work on the few good days and when I have been off it has been wind and rain.

Now to carry on sorting through this years photos...

Bye for now,

Neil.

Looking forward to the outcomes of your endeavours Neil Looks like it's that time of year to break out the spotting scope... At least you have your Large Blues and High Brown memories to keep you going through the winter months

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi Neil, sorting through photos is time consuming but enjoyable, I keep finding ones I'd overlooked at the time I took them

Mike

Cheers Wurzel , I am mostly looking through for photos to post in the species-specific favourites threads as they come up each week but will probably find some 'odds and sods' to stick in this dairy as well.

Hi Mike, I know what you mean, I usually post what I think are my best shots in this dairy as I go along but on looking back find others that I like. They may not always be good photos but ones I that I find appealing or interesting for other reasons such as the group photos that I posted a couple a couple of pages back.

Neil.

Whilst I am not really a 'birder' I do take an interest in the birds that I see, either in my garden or when out and about looking for butterflies. I have even made attempts to photograph some of them, usually through the window into the garden at home or 'snap shots' whilst out.

Earlier this year I managed three particular photos, all of which were snap shots of which I was particularly pleased with the results. All have been previously posted in this diary but I just thought that I would stick them together here in one place.

A Red Kite from Aston Rowant.
A Buzzard at Castle Hills near Solihull.
and a Kestrel on Bindon Hill at Lulworth, Dorset.
The above photos have all been cropped a bit to remove some empty sky but apart from that I was pleased with how they turned out considering in all cases it was quick point and shoot job with my FZ150.

Bye for now,

Neil.